Journal of clinical psychology
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Becoming a beginning therapist brings about a multitude of changes, both intrapersonally and interpersonally. In this article, I discuss some of these effects as they have manifested in my first (nearly) 2 years of practicing psychotherapy as a trainee. ⋯ With respect to the interpersonal dimension, I explore how my increased psychological mindedness has affected personal relationships as well as my own therapy. I conclude with a description of a defining case of my early career that integrates my understanding of the changes that I have undergone as a beginning therapist.
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This article explores the ways in which receiving, providing, and teaching others to do psychotherapy have influenced my adult development. In my 70s, I arrived at the conviction that at every stage of adulthood, practicing psychotherapy has had a direct and causal influence on my efforts to fill my personal life with meaning, virtue, and maturity. ⋯ The middle sections describe how I have used the professional practice of psychotherapy to integrate or dissolve the boundaries between work and play, and science and art, in the everyday conduct of my life. My psychobiographical analysis concludes with some reflections on a professional failure and the compensations of being an aging therapist.